An intriguing weekend of Premier League fixtures including Chelsea vs Manchester United is almost upon us, which means a number of Fantasy Premier League managers will be pondering last-minute transfer decisions ahead of the deadline.
Here are The Hard Tackle’s tips for the upcoming gameweek:
Time to bid adieu to your big-money players
Last gameweek came as a shock to many FPL managers as they saw the star studded trio of Sergio Aguero (£13.1m), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.4m) and Alexis Sanchez (£11.3m) under-perform.
The Man City striker was the pick of the bunch as he garnered -1 point due to a penalty miss and has left many managers question their decisions to rely heavily on him. The same can be made of United front man Ibrahimovic who has been pretty disastrous in front of goal of late.
Sanchez, too, has not been giving a good value-to-points return recently and should be removed for a cheaper option and this could open up a lot of balance to strengthen other areas of the team.
Diego Costa has become one of FPL’s must-haves
Chelsea front man Diego Costa started the season at £9.5m and has seen his value rise to £10.1m over eight weeks. He has become one of Antonio Conte’s first names on the teamsheets, and should also be given similar treatment in FPL.
With an ownership percent of 34.2, he is quickly becoming one of the game’s hottest prospects and a must have for managers looking to score regular points every week. In all but one match, the Spain international has either found the back of the net or has assisted another teammate in scoring. He is also heading the charts for BPS and has won the most Bonus Points this season.
Is it worth hopping on the Allen bandwagon?
All of a sudden, Joe Allen has emerged as one of the most talked about players pertaining to the FPL and is also the second-most transferred-in player of gameweek 9.
His sudden burst into fame is due to a run of stellar performances that began when he scored an 82nd minute equaliser against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium. He has seen a 0.4m surge in his value and could see it increase even further if he manages to grab a goal and an assist this weekend.
However, his purple patch is akin to that of Etienne Capoue’s at the start of the season. The Watford midfielder had a good run for four weeks, but has since managed to score at an average of two points per week.
Allen can be considered as a decent option for a fifth midfielder, but he cannot be a regular in any manager’s FPL squad. Given his susceptibility to injuries and his tendency to go missing for long periods, he is not really a player worth wasting a free transfer on.
Dejan Lovren provides good value
At £4.9 million, Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren proves to be a decent bargain for a third or fourth defender option. While the Reds kept only their first clean sheet of the season on Monday night against Manchester United, their run of fixtures could see them keep a lot more shut outs in the coming weeks.
With games against West Brom, Crystal Palace and Watford in the next three weeks, getting in a Liverpool defender would mean good business. Jurgen Klopp’s men have been majorly focused on attacking, but they are improving defensively too, and the United result could be an impetus for their defenders to go the extra mile and keep back-to-back cleansheets for the first time this season.
Ozil has burst into form and could be a safe captaincy bet
In the Champions League in midweek, German playmaker Mesut Ozil scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal as his side demolished Ludogorets 6-0. It was a flawless performance from the 27-year-old who looked like he enjoyed every minute of the game.
Now, in the league, Arsenal’s success has been credited to the brilliant performances of Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Laurent Koscielny. Ozil, generally at the centre of all things for Arsenal, has arguably not been their shining start this season.
But at a price of £9.5m, he is offered to managers at a considerably lower rate compared to the big names such as his teammate Sanchez (£11.3m), Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (£9.8m) and City’s Kevin de Bruyne (£10.6m). Ozil has bagged three goals this season, and has looked threatening with each passing game. Thus, the time may be right to get the German on board rather than purchasing him at a higher rate once we see an upswing in his performances.
The Hard Tackle’s Team of the Week (Bench Boost): Grant, Pickford; Koscielny, Clichy, Clyne, Zuniga, Ward; Sanchez, Son, Milner, Coutinho, Allen; Lukaku, Deeney, Costa.
Points gained last week: 51
